Apparatus for manufacture of non-woven fabric

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus for manufacture of non-woven fabric in which weft yarns are ejected by a jet of air under high pressure ejected through a slit over warp yarns extended in side-by-side and equidistantly spaced apart relation with each other and their intersections are connected together.

D00DOGBUOOOQQD OOODOOOOVOOOOflGDOUOOODQ f wT JW APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURE OF NON-WOVEN FABRIC YASUHIRO IZUMI Fild Feb. 10, 1970 Sept, 12, 1972 United States Patent Oihce 3,690,990 Patented Sept. 12, 1972 US. Cl. 156-441 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Method and apparatus for manufacture of non-woven fabric in which weft yarns are ejected by a jet of air under high pressure ejected through a slit over warp yarns extended in side-by-side and equidistantly spaced apart relation with each other and their intersections are connected together.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to method and apparatus for manufacture of non-woven fabric in which'the warp and weft yarns are not interwoven but overlaid one upon the other and their intersections are welded.

The textile fabrics are generally divided into two groups, one being woven fabrics which are generally widely used as materials for clothes and the like and in the industry and the other being non-woven fabrics. In case of the woven fabrics, each of the warp and weft or filling yarns are interwoven so that the fabrics have suificient resistance against tension and will not fray. However, the warp and weft yarns are interwoven so that the lengths of them must be exceedingly longer than that of the manufactured fabric. Furthermore, weaving machines are complicated in construction and the cost of the woven fabric is generally high.

The non-woven fabrics are recently widely used in the industry but they are very Weak in tensile strength and their durability is generally short so that their useis limited within a very limited field.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The primary object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for manufacture of non-woven fabrics in which the weft yarns are ejected through holes by air under high pressure over the extended warp yarns and thereafter both of the warp andweft yarns are Welded together at their intersections.

Another object of the present invention is to provide laminated or multi-layer non-woven fabrics by the use of a plurality of slits for ejecting the air under high pressure which are arranged in the form of multi-layers.

A further object of the present invention is to provide non-woven fabrics in which synthetic resin or rubber members are interposed between the adjacent non-woven fabric having the same area, but in case of the non-woven fabric in accordance with the present invention, the warp and weft yarns are not interwoven but overlaid one upon the other so that the cost of the fabric can be remarkably reduced.

The apparatus for manufacture of non-woven fabrics in accordance with the present invention is simple in construction and has a high operation speed as compared with the conventional apparatus so that the apparatus having a high efficiency may be fabricated at less cost. Thus, the non-woven fabrics having a high strength may be manufactured at a less cost and advantageously used as the base members of the belts, sofas, beds, etc. The non-woven fabrics having synthetic resin or rubber members interposed between the adjacent non-fabric layers in accordance with the present invention may be advantageously used as tires and textile products especially for industrial uses.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of one illustrative embodiment thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DMWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus in accordance with the present invention with its press means being removed; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagrammatic sectional view thereof with the press means being incorporated.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A multiplicity of warp bobbins 1 are arrayed at one end of the apparatus in accordance with the present invention. The warp yarns 2 are extended over a supporting shaft 3 and their spacing between the adjacent ones is determined by pins 4 upon a guide shaft 5. The warp yarns 2 are wound around a winding roller 6 at the other end of the apparatus.

Tension members 7 and 8 each in the form of a bar in the instant embodiment are interposed betwen the supporting shaft 3 and the guide shaft 5 and between the latter and the winding roller 6 respectively so that the tension of the warp yarns 2 may be maintained at a predetermined magnitude.

Along one side of the warp yarns 2 between the guide shaft 5 and the roller 6 is disposed a weft or filling yarn injecting device generally designated by housing 9 having a multiplicity of weft or filling yarn bobbins 10 disposed behind the device 9. At the front face (facing the warp yarns) of a member 11 of the housing device 9 are formed zig-zag yarn'holes 12 and 13 in two rows and spaced from each other by a predetermined distance and a slit 14 for ejecting the air under high pressure is formed between the upper and lower rows of the yarn holes 12 and 13. A pair of feed gears 16 and 17 are disposed immediately behind the yarn hole 12 while a pair of feed gears 18 and 19, of the yarn hole 13 in order to feed the weft or filling yarns 15 through the yarn holes 12 and 13.

The slit 14 is communicated through a high pressure air supply pipe 20 to a source of air under high pressure and a valve 21 is interposed between the pipe 20 and the slit 14. At the surface of the member 11 opposite to the surface facing the warp yarns and having the yarn holes 12 and 13 are also formed yarn intake holes 22 and 23 in the similar manner as the yarn holes 12 and 13.

Between the guide shaft 5 and the winding roller 6 is interposed a heating press (steam press) 24 for pressing the warp yarns 2 and weft or filling yarns 15 against each other and connecting or welding them together. Between the press 24 and the weft yarn injecting device 9 is interposed a cutter 25 for cutting off the weft or filling yarns 15. In opposed relation with the slit 14 across the warp yarns 2 is disposed a weft or filling yarn attracting device 27 having an air suction slit 26 which is positioned in parallel with the slit 14 of the device 9.

It will be seen that with the above described apparatus, several of the warp-yarn extending structures and of the weft-yarn ejecting device 9 may be overlaid one upon the other into multi-layers or stands so that the fabric having multi-layers of both warp and weft yarns may be produced when required.

Reference numerals 28 and 29 designate guide means for weft yarns 30 and 31, Weights for tension members 7 and 8 respectively.

Next the mode of operation will be described. The natural or synthetic yarns such as cotton, hemp, staple fiber yarns and so on are previously immersed in a plastic resin bath and then wound around bobbins. The synthetic yarns such as nylon, tetron, polyester yarns and so on are wound around the bobbins without being immersed in the resin bath. After the warp yarns 2 are extended over the guide shaft 5 and wound around the Winding roller 6, the winding roller 6 is stopped and the feed gears 16, 17, 18 and 19 within the Weft yarn injecting device 9 are rotated in the directions indicated by the arrows so that the weft yarns are extended beyond the yarn holes 12 and 13 and ejected when the valve 21 is opened in order to eject the air under high pressure through the slit 14 while the air suction slit 26 suctions the air at the same speed as that of the air ejected from the slit 14. Therefore, the weft yarns 15 are advanced straightly in parallel with each other at right angles relative to the Warp yarns.

When the angle of the slit 14 relative to the warp yarns 2 is suitably adjusted, the bias filling may be effected.

When it is desired to produce multi-layer fabrics, the

above described multi-layer or stand devices 9 and extending (warp) structures are driven in synchronism with each other so that each weft layer produced by each apparatus may be welded together at the same time. When it is desired to interpose a synthetic resin or rubber sheet between two fabric layers, all of the apparatus may be operated simultaneously and just prior to the welding the synthetic resin or rubber layer may be interposed between the adjacent fabric layers.

In case of the natural or chemical yarns are used, they are pressed and the synthetic resin immersed in the yarns is melted so that the Weft and warp yarns may be welded together. In case of the synthetic yarns, the Warp and weft yarns are Welded together by the hot steam press 24. Thereafter, the weft yarns 15 are cut off by the cutter 25 while the valve 21 is closed, thereby stopping the ejection of the air under high pressure. Thus the fabric is formed and then wound around the winding roller 6 and the next Warp yarns are extended over the apparatus in the same manner described hereinabove. The above described cycle of production of the non-woven fabrics is repeated for continuously manufacturing the non-Woven fabrics.

The distance between the guide shaft 5 and the winding roller 6 is determined depending upon the space of a factory in which is installed the apparatus and upon a desired operation efiiciency.

It will be readily seen that the longer the distance between the guide shaft and the winding roller, the less becomes the manufacturing cost.

The present invention has been so far described with particular reference to one illustrative embodiment thereof, but it Will be seen that variations and modifications can be effected without departing from the true spirit of the present invention as described hereinabove and as defined in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for manufacture of non-woven fabrics consisting essentially of:

a guide shaft means for extending warp yarns in a taut state in side-by-side relation and in equidistantly spaced apart relation with each other in a linear alignment along a substantially common first plane;

a roller means spaced apart from said guide shaft by a predetermined first distance for receiving non-woven fabric from said guide shaft means;

a housing means at a first location extending longitudinally along said first distance for a predetermined first length, disposed along one side of a site for said warp yarns to be extended said first distance, for ejecting weft yarns transversely of extended warp yarns to a second location above extended warp yarns, said housing means being further for ejecting said weft yarns at an angle such that linearly ejected weft yarns do not intersect said warp yarns;

said housing means including a slit-forming structure means defining at least one slit, for ejecting air under pressure through said housing means transversely of warp yarns extended between said guide shaft means and said roller means, said slit-forming structure means being directed in a direction along a second plane such that the ejecting air is ejected from said first location along a predetermined second length of said first distance;

said housing means further including a plurality of weft yarn-ejecting means defining holes along the second length formed above and below respectively said slitforming structure means, and such that ejected air from said slit-forming structure means entrains weft yarns ejected from said housing means;

a suction means defining an air intake port means extending along beside said site for about said second length, said suction means being for sucking into said port means ends of Weft yarns directed by ejected air from said slit-forming structure means in a direction transverse to warp-extending yarns, said air intake port means being located on an opposite side of the site for warp-extending yarns from which said housing means is located, said slit-forming structure means and said suction means being located and directed, relative to one-another, such that ejected and airentrained weft yarns are advanced straightly and substantially in parallel with one-another of the weft yarns; and

a cutter means for cutting-off said weft yarns disposed between said extended warp yarns and said housing means at predetermined intervals between intermittent air ejections from said slit-forming structure means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,345,230 10/1967 McClean 156-439 X 3,565,729 2/1971 Hartmann 156441 3,041,230 6/1962 Diehl 156-439 X 1,850,301 3/1932 Gibbs 156439 2,693,844 11/1954 Bay 156-439 2,936,022 5/1960 Stevenson l56439 X 1,383,243 6/1921 Schwartz 156-439 3,031,733 5/1962 Ljung et a1 156-439 X BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner H. TUDOR, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

